CEO of Australian telecom operator resigns after network outage debacle

Canberra : Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, CEO of Optus which is the second-largest telecommunications operator in Australia, has tendered her resignation, days after a network outage plunged millions of users into turmoil, its parent company Singtel said on Monday.

“Having now had time for some personal reflection, I have come to the decision that my resignation is in the best interest of Optus moving forward,” Xinhua news agency quoted Rosmarin as saying in a statement issued by the Singapore-based Singtel.

The hours-long outage on November 8 not only left people missing out on pivotal calls, messages, or social media notifications, but also yielded a crippling effect on businesses, public transport, and emergency services.

With a customer base of over 10 million people and 400,000 businesses nationwide, the Optus network handles about 51.3 million mobile calls and 51 million SMS messages on a typical day.

“On Friday, I had the opportunity to appear before the Senate to expand on the cause of the network outage and how Optus recovered and responded. I was also able to communicate Optus’ commitment to restore trust and continue to serve customers,” Rosmarin said.

Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said Optus appointed Kelly at the beginning of the pandemic and the company acknowledged “her leadership, commitment and hard work throughout what has been a challenging period”.

“We recognise the need for Optus to regain customer trust and confidence as the team works through the impact and consequences of the recent outage and continues to improve,” Yuen said.

“Optus’ priority is about setting on a path of renewal for the benefit of the community and customers.”

Optus on Monday appointed Chief Financial Officer Michael Venter to concurrently assume the role of interim CEO to focus on these priorities as it embarked on a global search for a new CEO, according to Singtel.